lookie loo!

lookie loo!!!

just about to crack this puppy open and dive into the radiohead thought process… the lineup at yonge and dundas square was crazy too! they were at the YDS then moved across the street in front of the H&M… the line was massive each time. lots of fans out there ready to read.

nice to know press is not dead when you have the right thing behind it… that is, a huge band that has an endless fanbase always ready to grab the newest rare paraphernalia.

Enjoy, radiohead fans!

-janeovision

first fringe, then bluesfest then bed.

The Ottawa Fringe Festival Has come and gone.

In a nutshell, The festival was wonderful, with new, innovative ideas and organization and adventure happening everywhere.

Myself, I didn't have the best Fringe. Not because of the fringe itself, i loved the people and meeting old friends again and awesome dance parties in the beer tent. This year, the lottery factor of the Fringe got the worst of me and I saw more bad shows than good. Well, there were only a few REALLY terrible ones (we all know what they are/were) but I found that there was nothing realy amazing or anything that really caught my attention, or moved me or spoke to me. It seemed quite repetitive and lackluster. Mind you, I did miss a lot of great shows due to work and NXNE schedules clashing, so I'm a bit one sided (and frustrated by it too!) but I guess this was not my year for Fringe.

Oh well. NEXT YEAR!!

Bluesfest is happening now, with shows such as Flaming Lips, Dana Fuchs, Woodhands, Rush, Swell Season, Arcade Fire, and Sarah Harmer flooding our streets with music. This weekend wraps up the festival, closing up with Foghat and Weezer. I'm so excited to see this show, however, at the same time, I'm really excited for Bluesfest to be over. My schedule this summer has borderline festival'd me OUT!! I'M EXHAUSTED!!!

Monday, post-pinkerton, I plan on sleeping in, drinking tea and regaining my bearings again. I'll need them, especially since I'm moving in just over a month to Toronto.

...without a job (yet).
...or an apartment (yet).
...or a roommate (yet).*

*please note my blind optimism. It's there I swear!!!

I think I'm going to catch some sleep while I can. I have another blog post in my head, but my head is feeling smooshy. Yes, smooshy. Deal with it.


-janeovision

update of sorts...blog mashup, twitter style.

Once again, I have fallen off the Blogging wagon. oddly enough, while I've been procrastinating, I've been contemplating starting a new blog with specific rants focusing on one topic. However, I think I should work on managing one blog at a time. If you can't do one thing, two can't be any better.

I'll keep this short, note the things that have happened in the past month in twitter-style: 140 characters or less. I tweet far better than I blog anyways, so why not combine the two! This post will have a bit of everything, cover all my bases of the past month and ideally get me back on track with this damn thing!! Okay, here we go:

UPDATE:

Tattoo: I have one! Paper cranes and black ravens up my ribcage. Yes it hurt. A bit. I love it. No, mum, the birdcage is not crooked.

Scooter: I'm driving it now! It's awesome and was such a pain to get on the road, but $$ and stress later and I'm scootin'!

Julie Doiron and co.: Cute 4-piece band which name i forget. cute and mellow. one guy stood like an old man. In a cute way.

Plants and Animals: AMAZING CONCERT! New album rules and they put on a great show. Openers for them were lame.

London: I went for a weekend (no, the other one). Bad start, good ending. Saw family and friends, but some things never change.

Toronto: I'm the girl who cried it. But this time it sticks or I lose my mind for good. I have roommate prospects!!

Wooden Sky: Saw them at Cafe Nostalgica just in time for the encore. I'm still in love with you guys, shoe scuffs and all.

Roommate: Have a new one. Last one pulled a "Mr. Big" and moved out sneaky style. Left a note. New one has promise.

NXNE: I'm volunteering! I'm either running the retail tents or the merch/artist tent. ICOULD MEET IGGY POP!!


Okay i think that's the worst of it. One day I'll be able to do this properly. Maybe even non-twitter style.

Until then.

-janeovision

Musical Adventures: Diamond Rings and Woodhands

Last week I whet my whistle with the coming of the summer music festival by watching Diamond Rings and Woodhands at Mavericks.

When Diamond first came on stage, I was very skeptical. He was wearing zebra leggings tucked into black tube socks, with an oversized leather jacket and more makeup than I've worn in a week. (although, I was impressed, his lines and blending was nice and clean) Once he started playing, I wasn't immediately swayed either. He had his Itunes open to his songs and accomanying it with either a keyboard or guitar. Once in a while he did both.

It threw me off for sure. His outfit was wild and his music was peppy, but his voice was so deep and somber. It was an interesting contrast. Think Magnetic Fields meet the Cure. After a few songs and a LOT of skepticism, he grew on me. This solo artist slowly dragged you into his moody-poppy hipsterlicious music. I even realized that I knew one of his songs as he came up to perform his encore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6IUKa25e80

I'm still not sure if I'm a fan. This song is alright and seems to be enjoying its 15 minutes of fame, but I'm doubting any staying power. I can't even look at him without giggling at how ridiculous he looks.

My heart and my ears were saved once Woodhands came on. I've been a fan for the past year now and to finally see them in concert was making me do a happy dance to the dance music. And that's a lot of dancin'!

They played the old and even tossed a couple new songs in, including the recent single, "CP24". The audience was feeling all of it, eating up every stroke off the keytar and the beats of the broken snare drum (occupational hazard, I suppose).

I'd have to say the best part was the remixes of old songs like Biz Markies "Just a Friend" and Cory Hart's "I Wear my Sunglasses at Night" in with their own tunes. This created an extra vibe and pour-out of energy from the crowd, singing along to the awesomeness.

I'll try to add my videos later, but my words are failing me at the awesomeness. Obviously I'm not much of a writer, but let's just say it kicked ass and Woodhands and I are getting married. We confirmed it on twitter and everything. So there.

Hoping it just gets better from here.

-janeovision

best of 2009. yeaaa.

So, a wonderful, annual tradition amongst friends is the 'Best of 2009' cd exchange party. We choose and create what we felt were the best songs/albums of 2009, make cd's (and cover art!) and exchange among friends. always a great time, where we just chill out, drink and enjoy music and explain our awesome choices.

Sooo... with no further ado, here's my list!

1. Demon Host - Timber Timbre
2. The Rake's Song - The Decemberists
3. My Girls - Animal Collective
4. Heads Up - Karen O and the Kids
5. Never Forget You - Noisettes
6. 1901 - Phoenix
7. Black Ice - Ohbijou
8. Little Secrets - Passion Pit
9. Son, You're Daddy Was Bad - United Steelworkers of Montreal
10. Oh My God - The Wooden Sky
11. Skeletons - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
12. Laura Palmer's Prom - You Say Party! We say Die!
13. Crystalised - The XX
14. Commes des enfants - Coeur de Pirate
15. Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear
16. (snare off) first edit. - The Love Machine
17. You're Not Coming Home Tonight - First Aid Kit
18. Yer My Byatch - The Acorn

Now, I know that not all of these are 2009. at least one song is 2008, and another hasn't even been released to public ears yet. but this is MY 2009. so there.

Enjoy, compare, contrast, and keep enjoying music!



-janeovision

p.s. you can also ejoy my friend Kyle's list at
www.stealtheselists.blogspot.com